BMW Launches Concept Cars Which Colors Can Match Your Social Media Status Like Chameleon

The latest BMW cars can change colors. (photo: BMW)

JAKARTA – BMW has launched a chameleon car that can change color. This is the latest attempt by the auto company to combine their vehicles with cutting-edge technology.

The German car company said it had "brought the body to life" with a body wrap developed specifically for the all-electric iX SUV model, which uses the same technology as Amazon's Kindle e-reader.

At the touch of a button, the driver can change the color of the car's exterior, allowing colors to shift between black and white stripes or even light and dark stripes by activating the electronic ink on the cover shell.

“You decide what you want to wear, what your social media status is – and you can decide what your car looks like,” said Stella Clarke, BMW's project lead on the vehicle, as quoted by The Guardian.

Clarke added that the technology could be used to locate a car by making it blink when the driver is looking for it, or to display the vehicle's battery capacity externally.

According to BMW, the effect is created by applying an electric charge to the microcapsules – which contain particles of white and black pigment – suspended in a liquid encased in their shell.

The color alternates depending on whether a negative or positive charge is applied, which causes a white or black pigment to accumulate on the surface of the microcapsule.

The concept car, which is not yet available for public sale, was unveiled at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where auto companies are increasingly advertising their products alongside makers of cell phones, gadgets and TV screens.